Premier League 2010-2011

The Premier League 2010-11 season kicks off next Saturday, 14^th August. Defending champions Chelsea will kick off the new campaign at home to newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion. Find all the latest updates here as we share the experience with you over the next few months.

For those who’ve just joined in:

The Premier League is England’s primary football club competition. At the top of the English Football Pyramid, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League which lies below it.

Every year the Premier League season takes place from August to May and during these 9 months, each Premier League team plays every other team twice, on a home and away basis, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and none for a loss. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner.

The Premier League consists of 20 clubs. The three lowest teams in the Premier League at the end of the season are relegated to the Football League while three teams from Football League are promoted to the Premier League.

Winners of the Premier League qualify for European championships including UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

The top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top three teams directly entering the group stage. The fourth-placed team enters the Champions League at the play-off round. The team placed fifth in the Premier League automatically qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, and the sixth and seventh-place teams can also qualify, depending on the winners of the two domestic cup competitions.

Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. It is sponsored by Barclays Bank and therefore officially known as the Barclays Premier League.

Promoted as "The Greatest Show On Earth", the Premier League is the world's most popular and most watched sporting league, followed worldwide by over half a billion people in 202 countries.

Since its inception in 1992, it has only been won by 4 teams – Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal and Chelsea. Manchester United has dominated the league through 11 wins and Chelsea are current Champions.

In addition to the winner's Trophy and the individual Winner's Medals, the Premier League also awards the monthly, Manager of the Month and Player of the Month awards, and the annual Manager of the Year as well as the Golden Boot, awarded to top goal scorer and the Golden Glove, awarded to the goal keeper with most clean sheets.

Premier League 2010-2011

This year’s Premier League will be the nineteenth season of the league. The 2010–11 fixtures were released on 17 June 2010 . The season will begin on 14 August 2010, and conclude on 22 May 2011.

17 teams from the 2009-10 Premier League are contesting this time, while 3 teams have been promoted from the Football League. These are 2009–10 Football League Championship champions Newcastle United and runners-up West Bromwich Albion as well as Blackpool who will be appearing for the first time in Premier League.

This will also be the first time since 1983–84 that all four major West Midlands clubs — Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers — will all have been in the top division at the same time.
It will also be the first time that the Black Country derby will be contested in the Premier League. And with Portsmouth relegated, this season's Premier League will have no Southern English clubs outside London.

What's Making Headlines

Chelsea will take on Manchester United in the 2010 Community Shield tomorrow, 8^th August at Wembley Stadium, in what is considered to be a curtain raiser for the Premier League season starting one week from now. Premier League’s defending champions, Chelsea are the favourites to claim the Community Shield silverware. The game is usually considered a massive confidence booster for the winner as each team would most likely be the main Premiership rival for the other.

The league has introduced a "home grown players" rule this season. From this season onwards Premier League clubs will have to name a squad of up to 25 players and the new rule will require clubs to name at least eight players in their squad of 25 that have been registered domestically for a minimum of three seasons prior to their 21st birthday. The hope is that this rule change will have a beneficial knock-on effect at international level, giving England a greater pool of potential players. It aims to encourage the development of young footballers at Premier League clubs and will also reward clubs for their investment in youth.

Fixtures for this Month

Saturday, 14 August 2010

Tottenham v Man City, 12:45

Aston Villa v West Ham, 15:00

Blackburn v Everton, 15:00

Bolton v Fulham, 15:00

Sunderland v Birmingham, 15:00

Wigan v Blackpool, 15:00

Wolverhampton v Stoke, 15:00

Chelsea v West Brom, 17:30

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Sunday, 15 August 2010

Liverpool v Arsenal, 16:00

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Monday, 16 August 2010

Man Utd v Newcastle, 20:00

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Saturday, 21 August 2010

Arsenal v Blackpool, 15:00

Birmingham v Blackburn, 15:00

Everton v Wolverhampton, 15:00

Stoke v Tottenham, 15:00

West Brom v Sunderland, 15:00

West Ham v Bolton, 15:00

Wigan v Chelsea, 17:15

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Sunday, 22 August 2010

Newcastle v Aston Villa, 13:30

Fulham v Man Utd, 16:00

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Monday, 23 August 2010

Man City v Liverpool, 20:00

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Saturday, 28 August 2010

Blackburn v Arsenal, 12:45

Blackpool v Fulham, 15:00

Chelsea v Stoke, 15:00

Liverpool v West Brom, 15:00

Tottenham v Wigan, 15:00

Wolverhampton v Newcastle, 15:00

Man Utd v West Ham, 17:30

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Sunday, 29 August 2010

Bolton v Birmingham, 13:30

Sunderland v Man City, 15:00

Aston Villa v Everton, 16:00

Spain win FIFA World Cup 2010

The Images of the Spanish Victory showered in Golden Confetti, Sunday night from Soccer City, are still splashing all over news channels. Spain has won the FIFA World Cup for the first time; it’s a moment for the pages of history.

With both Netherlands and Spain being the only teams to have won all their qualification matches and Netherlands having been undefeated all throughout the tournament, the stage was set for an exciting match on Sunday night. Added to that was the anticipation running around 5 key players, each vying for the Golden Ball.

All eyes were on Sneijder and Villa to battle it out and put up the best game of the tournament. But neither could create magic for their teams. The last game of the FIFA 2010 turned out to be quiet a drag through the 90 minutes of play, until Andres Iniesta swooped in during extra time, hitting a pass from mid-fielder Fábregas past through the Dutch defence to score the winning goal for his team, with only 4 minutes time left.

The game had its moments, including a record 14 Yellow cards (9 of which were issued to Dutch players) and 1 red card for the Netherland’s defender, John Heitinga which left the Dutch with only 10 men to battle out the last 11 minutes. A loss that cost them heavily in the 116^th minute when Iniesta scored. Eight players were booked in little over an hour in Soccer City and the constant interruptions proved to be quiet frustrating, for those on field as well as for the spectators.

This is Netherland’s 3^rd final defeat in the World Cup and the first time that a European nation has won the World Cup outside of Europe. For Spain, coming after their Euro Cup win in 2008 against Germany and a long struggle, it’s a case of Beauty winning over the Beast. The team has been lauded for their artistic style which won over the brute force of Netherlands. The Spanish media is calling it “Poetic Justice” while others call it the victory of football as the Spanish side stuck to its attacking philosophy and won the game “the right way”, without ugly tactics or physical force. It was truly the beautiful game, classic style.

Thomas Meuller, of Germany, won the Golden Boot with his 5 goals and 3 assists, while Uruguay’s Diego Forlan won the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player. Mueller also won the title of Best Young Player.

The 2010 World Cup cannot be termed the most breath-taking ever, but drama and excitement did come in dozes. There were several disappointments with individual players such as Ronaldo, Rooney and Kaka but in the end, team effort has shown its strength. Spain very splendidly proved till their last game that the best performers are teams.

This World Cup will also be remembered for some unconventional reasons including several referee blunders which lead to debates regarding the use of better technology during matches. For Shakira’s “Waka Waka”. For Paul, the octopus who achieved celebrity status through his predictions. For South Africa's unbreakable enthusiasm as first-time hosts and for the vuvuzela which, despite all debates, will forever be synonymous with the South African World Cup.

And for the official song which captured a million hearts with its unique style. When I get older, I will be stronger, They’ll call me freedom, Just like the waving flag......And Spain’s flags are waving away to glory.

So Goodbye FIFA 2010.

Next installation: Brazil, 2014

The Golden Question: Who Gets The Golden Ball?

The World Cups finals are tonight and many eyes are on the Golden ball.

The Golden Ball trophy is awarded every World Cup to the best player of the tournament. Followed by a second place Silver ball and third place Bronze ball.

FIFA’s Technical Study Group announced the Golden ball nominees on 9^th July. Here’s a quick review of the nominees and what the FIFA Technical Study Group have to say about them:

Diego Forlan (Uruguay) – Striker

Architect of the team’s attack, very influential, great impact for his team, provider of quality final passes, goal scorer, set pieces/shots from long range

Asamoah Gyan (Ghana) – Striker

Huge work rate, efficient, good dribbler, creates problems to each defence, good goal scorer

Andres Iniesta (Spain) – Mid-Fielder

Very fine ball-playing attacking midfielder, a star for the team, impressive dribbling ability

Lionel Messi (Argentina) – Forward

The best footballer around , Outstanding in his pace and creativity for his team, dribbling, shooting, passing – spectacular and efficien

Mesut Oezil (Germany) – Mid-Fielder

A real talent for the present and the future, quick feet and great vision, good final and decisive passes

Arjen Robben (Netherlands) – Forward

Very good pace and dribbling skills, wonderful ability to cut inside from the right, effective to his team

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) – Mid-Fielder

Impressive by his first pass (forward and accurate), very good passer, has moments of individual brilliance, ball-winner

Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands) – Mid-Fielder

A maestro in midfield, exceptional work rate, the engine of Netherland’s attacks, excellent passer and scorer

David Villa (Spain) – Forward

Top scorer; quick, two footed, very good on one-on-one situations, provides good final passes, excellent finisher

Xavi (Spain) – Mid-Fielder
The metronome and the engine of the Spanish team, very influential in the passing style of the game, one of the finest midfielders in the tournament

The winners would be voted on by accredited media representatives and announced tonight after the final game. This time around, however, FIFA has decided to wait until the final whistle at Soccer City before the votes are cast, an important decision coming after Zidane’s head-butting right after he had just won the Golden Ball at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The absence of top players such as Rooney, Kaka and Ronaldo, who were favourites at the beginning of the tournament is another in a long string of disappointments since the World Cup began in June. However, the player whose absence is angering most fans is Thomas Mueller of Germany who emerged as an overnight success with his four goals, including two against England and one against Argentina.

Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan, the player with the most shots in the tournament at 33, has made it to the list as he spearheaded Ghana's charge to the quarter-finals with three goals and looked set to be the star player for Africa until he missed the crucial penalty shot against Uruguay.

The presence of both Oezil and Schweinsteiger reinstates Germany’s mid-field dominance in this tournament. A relative unknown, Oezil proved to be a surprise as he scored a stunning long range strike against Ghana and ripped England to shreds in the 4-1 second round, while Schweinsteiger superbly headed the midfield for Germany's young team.

But the clear favourites are David Villa and Wesley Sneijder, with 5 goals each so far in the tournament, which also puts them in the lead for the Golden Boot. Since votes will be cast after the match, both players have a last chance to outshine the other. Iniesta and Xavi of Spain are also top competitors and will have the same edge of being part of the final game. With Dutch player Arjen Robben also in the top 10 list, we can be sure of an exciting game tonight as 5 players compete for the top spot.

World Cup Finalists are here.. Spain vs Netherlands

We have the two Finalist : Spain vs Netherlands

Spain : Who reach have reached the world cup Finals for the first time ever

Netherlands : Who have never won a World Cup before. Although the Dutch have twice been finalists (1974 and 1978) they are yet to win a trophy,

So we can be sure of one thing that the Trophy will bear a new name this time.

Netherlands defeated Uruguay 3-1 on their way to the semi-finals.

and Spain defended well to beat the Germans 1-0.

Both these teams have displayed tremendous patience and perseverance on their way to the final , with them having majority possession in most of the games.

The final slated to be played on 11^th July at the soccer city stadium in Johannesburg is set to be the most awaited match.

So whom are you supporting..

World Cup : Quarter Finals

The Games lined-up for Quarter Final are:

Brazil vs Netherlands

Ghana vs Uruguay

Germany vs Argentina

Paraguay vs Spain

It's going to be an exciting weekend ahead....

Brazil are 5 times world champions who meet the eqully flamboyant Netherlands.

Both have played fantastic football and this match is sure gonna be exciting.

Ghana have the hopes of Africa on them , who are all praying for them to win.

Germany and Argentina have been at par excellence. Germany is a young side which has shown great maturity and discipline all the way and Argentina simply has Messi the unstoppable footballer who gives opponents sleepless nights.

Spain play against Paraguay on 3rd July. Spain has never won the World Cup and are gearing in to perform to correct the record books. Paraguay has played well as a team and will not make it easy for Spain.

So whom are you rooting for.. Let us know your Favorites and your predictions.

World Cup Update

So with Brazil winning 3 - 0 in their game against Chile we have the following Quater-Finals lined up ..

Brazil vs Netherlands on 2nd July

Gemany vs Argentina on 3rd July

Germany had great game against England beating them 4 -1 , so did Argentina which won 3 - 1 beating Mexico.

Earlier Today Netherlands giving a display of their total football to beat Slovakia 2-1

Both these Quarter-Finals would be brilliant games , with all the four sides winning all their games en-route comfortably.

Games Coming Up :

Spain vs Portugal

and

Japan vs Uruguay

Spain have been consistent but Portugal have been at their striking best , Japan has played with guts and skill so have Uruguay. So these two games will decide the who goes further to the quarter-finals.

Well football keeps us on our toes..

So what your predictions..

Whom do you think will make it to the semis..

World Cup 2010 - Australia need to Win

World Cup is into it 12th Day.

Had a great time watching Portugal score 7 Goals , though one could feel a bit sorry for the Korean Side. Portugal meet Brazil in their final Group encounter on 25th June. That would surely be an exciting game, with the two countries winning both their matches played as of now.

Australia and Serbia enter their decisive Group D match on Wednesday ,for both the teams a defeat would bring an early end to their World Cup campaigns.

Australia, which will be without Harry Kewell and Craig Moore through suspension, will welcome back Tim Cahill from a ban. A win will be enough for the Socceroos to progress to the second round, but would depend on the outcome of the simultaneous Ghana-Germany game.

Defender Aleksandar Lukovic will be back from suspension and join Serbia. It will definitely reach the round of 16 if they win, while a draw would be enough provided Ghana beats Germany.

This is the fun of world cup , which is always so unpredictable.

Todays matches are :

Mexio vs Uruguay

France vs South Africa

Nigeria vs Korea Republic

Greece vs Argentina

So see you there on the field , or at @VIVSportings